Sapcote's all round game an ill wind for Niffy 3rds

Sapcote’s all round game an ill wind for Niffy 3rds
It was cold when we arrived at Gilmorton on Saturday last to play Sapcote 2nds, very cold. When you think of cricket it usually conjures up visions of sunny days and lazy bees moving from flower to flower whilst in the background someone is drinking a long cool drink and batters and bowlers gently tussle it out in the middle. This wasn't one of those games.
It was cold in the pavilion and colder out in the middle. When players stopped for drinks it should have been hot bovril. When returning from an umpiring stint it was blessed relief. It didn't change all day.
We lost the toss and batted first on a damp pitch against bowling perfectly suited to slow wet conditions. I think some of our batters would prefer playing at the WACA and the scoreboard after 20 overs would support that notion. Sapcote bowled straight and full at a modest pace making it hard to score and it took Jonno and Andy playing to the conditions to put on a good partnership to give us something to bowl at. However when Meggo was in he made it look like the WACA as he belted the ball about with authority, especially off the quicker bowler coming from the shed end. One particularly memorable pick up shot off a full ball on leg disappeared serenely and at some pace over the boundary into the far distance. With some late order scrambling we posted what we thought was a competitive 166 and then hid in the warmth of the pavilion for tea.
Jordan and Matt opened the bowling well with the lanky left-armer impressing the old men in the slip cordon with his control and pace. If they got an edge it was gonna fly, however that didn't happen and it was Jordan who bowled one of the openers. A short while later they were 53/2 but then Brazier kept himself warm playing patiently and straight whilst Bulsara used his lefthandedness and strong bottom hand to hit the ball in unexpected places, and with touches of luck. If we'd known he had Freddie Mercury’s surname I'm sure we could have thought up suitable Queen song titles but alas it wasn't to be. When Dave bowled him for a well played 53 they were 138/3 and in a strong position to win the game. But before that there was time for some controversy.
Mr Tharsan replaced Bulsara and loudly nicked his first ball to Meggo but stood there as we all went up in celebration. He didn't walk and the umpire wasn't going to give him out and to say we were surprised and disappointed barely covers the emotions expressed and it was a relief when the square leg umpire told him to go off, which he reluctantly did. A fired up Pagey then took two more wickets as their run chased neared its conclusion and Brazier reached a well deserved 50 as he shepherded his team over the finish line.
Their strength so far this season has been their batting and it showed. Hopefully the return will be played in warmer weather on a flatter pitch where we'll be looking to even it up. When the game finished after 7pm it was still cold and getting colder so we went to the pub to warm up. More next week…
Report by M.Coulson